Are we "all done" with COVID?

“We are all done with COVID” is bringing Mixed Feeling & Emotions to Welfare Recipients!

By Kendall Worth!

 

Please don't get me wrong, some welfare recipients are actually excited to see life returning to "normal", while others are still concerned and anxious. People are worried about their neighbours, friends, and relatives who are immune compromised, older, high risk etc. Every situation is different!

Lately, welfare recipients have been hearing “we are done with COVID”. We have been seeing evidence of this exact thing in day to day life. Welfare recipients are full of anxiety, hearing in the news that once again COVID cases are on the rise, and that the days of COVID restrictions (Masking indoors, social distancing, mandatory vaccination etc.) are over. Some lucky people from this community, are starting to make plans to see family member and friends, that they have avoided since COVID started. For others it still feels risky and they are hesitant. Many, of course, have no family and few friends.

In a previous blog post,  I made the following points:

Lately, some welfare recipients have told me that they are getting scared and concerned, that the way we are expected to live during this pandemic, is going to be the way we have to live for the rest of our lives! For those without close family, larger incomes, and even access to basic services like internet, libraries and some rec centres, it is not so easy. But almost all the people I talk to are doing their best to follow the rules, hoping restrictions will end.

In this post, I said: During COVID, Income assistance annual reviews are being completed over the phone, then the paperwork is sent to clients in the mail, to be signed and returned. Income Assistance Recipients, I talked to, like this system better than going to see the caseworker in person.

At present some welfare recipients are saying they do not want the annual reviews to go back “in Person“ following the lifting of COVID Restrictions.

In this post, I brought up several concerns about welfare recipients figuring out when the time to right to do things like get re-connected with family members who want to see them, Etc..

It turns out that a lot of my informants, are having mixed feeling these days. Since Dr. Robert Strang announced that Nova Scotia is ending all restrictions expect for high risk settings – that is places where large numbers of folks live close together like Long Term Care and jails - some welfare recipients are actually excited they finally can make plans to see people they have not seen since before the Pandemic. However, they still want to exercise caution because they are hearing from the community that COVID is still around, and the numbers are high. Others are not so sure if the time is right this year or not. Some folks I know personally, are slowly starting to get out of self isolation and starting to do things again.

However not all welfare recipients are ready to return to normal, especially with them knowing that COVID is still around. What is scaring welfare recipients these days is Dr. Robert Strang saying people no longer have to self isolate even if they test positive for COVID. People who are part of the Community of People I advocate for, all agree that Dr. Strang’s statement is wrong. No wonder, after hearing about the symptoms, you could suffer from, if you get COVID. In this article I prepared the readers for what to expect for if they ever catch COVID.

With cases being on the rise seem like COVID will be around for-ever. Be prepared!